Breaking ground on progress

Published: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 9:56 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 9:56 p.m.

Even in recent years, when unemployment skyrocketed across the nation, Louisiana has been blessed with enough jobs to keep the jobless rate down and nearly all of our residents at work.

The key to jobs is a healthy underlying economy.

And the key to keeping a healthy economy is having enough qualified people to work at jobs and enticing companies to come here or expand here.

It is a healthy cycle of progress, one that benefits everyone — from the workers in those jobs to the people who depend on the services purchased with the tax money they generate.

So it is incredibly good news that we are fueling the cycle. Fletcher Technical Community College broke ground earlier this week on a new $8 million training center at its campus in Schriever.

The center will be used to train future workers for the offshore oil and gas industries.

“When I took office, we made a commitment to improve the campuses and learning environment for students because we know the community and technical college system is a critical pipeline for ensuring that we have skilled workers in Louisiana,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday.

The money for the project came from BP and the state.

But the beneficiaries will stretch across our region.

Not just BP, but all the companies that rely on trained workers to fill out their employment will draw people from the center.

Ironically, this news comes on the heels of so many rounds of cuts at Fletcher and Nicholls State. This training center won’t make those earlier cuts any easier to bear, but it does help offset the flood of bad news.

Fletcher, with its new campus and now this new training facility, is an attractive centerpiece of our area’s education and training options.

Centrally located, affordably priced and having the attention of the companies looking to it for a workforce and the future workers looking to it for their training, Fletcher is an important cog in our economic engine.

This new center — all 29,999 square feet of it — will reinforce Fletcher’s mission, helping countless companies and workers in the process.

This is a significant milestone that will continue to pay dividends in the years to come. Congratulations to Fletcher and its many students and business partners on this latest achievement.

<p>Jobs.</p><p>Even in recent years, when unemployment skyrocketed across the nation, Louisiana has been blessed with enough jobs to keep the jobless rate down and nearly all of our residents at work.</p><p>The key to jobs is a healthy underlying economy.</p><p>And the key to keeping a healthy economy is having enough qualified people to work at jobs and enticing companies to come here or expand here.</p><p>It is a healthy cycle of progress, one that benefits everyone — from the workers in those jobs to the people who depend on the services purchased with the tax money they generate.</p><p>So it is incredibly good news that we are fueling the cycle. Fletcher Technical Community College broke ground earlier this week on a new $8 million training center at its campus in Schriever.</p><p>The center will be used to train future workers for the offshore oil and gas industries.</p><p>“When I took office, we made a commitment to improve the campuses and learning environment for students because we know the community and technical college system is a critical pipeline for ensuring that we have skilled workers in Louisiana,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday.</p><p>The money for the project came from BP and the state.</p><p>But the beneficiaries will stretch across our region.</p><p>Not just BP, but all the companies that rely on trained workers to fill out their employment will draw people from the center.</p><p>Ironically, this news comes on the heels of so many rounds of cuts at Fletcher and Nicholls State. This training center won't make those earlier cuts any easier to bear, but it does help offset the flood of bad news.</p><p>Fletcher, with its new campus and now this new training facility, is an attractive centerpiece of our area's education and training options.</p><p>Centrally located, affordably priced and having the attention of the companies looking to it for a workforce and the future workers looking to it for their training, Fletcher is an important cog in our economic engine.</p><p>This new center — all 29,999 square feet of it — will reinforce Fletcher's mission, helping countless companies and workers in the process.</p><p>This is a significant milestone that will continue to pay dividends in the years to come. Congratulations to Fletcher and its many students and business partners on this latest achievement.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>